This invention relates to the techniques used to improve the performance of internal combustion systems in order to reduce emission of contaminants and economize the use of fuel, and more specifically, relates to an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems.
It is well known that combustion engines are thermal machines. They are also called explosion engines, as combustion in the cylinder occurs extremely quickly and within the engine itself, not in an independent chamber.
During combustion, chemical energy is converted into kinetic energy that, in turn, is converted into mechanical energy, using a special mechanism, which may be used for specific actions.
Internal combustion engines use the expansion of gases produced by the live combustion of a carburet ant mixture in the combustion chamber of the cylinders, so that the gases drive a piston, the movement of which, through a connecting rod, causes the crankshaft to rotate.
They may function at either a four- or two-stroke cycle. In the first case, the cycle sequence is as follows: intake, when the piston, driven by the crankshaft, drops and draws in the carburet ant mixture from the carburetor into the cylinder; compression, the crankshaft forces the piston up and the piston strongly compresses the carburet ant mixture in the combustion chamber; explosion, the spark that passes between the spark plug""s electrodes ignites the mixture, thus causing the combustion gases to expand violently and drive the piston, producing work and pulling the crankshaft; and, exhaust, the piston rises again and forces out the combustion gases. The opening of intake and exhaust valves and the creation of the spark in the combustion chamber are occasioned by the synchronized movement of the crankshaft.
On the other hand, in two-stroke engines, the four phases of the cycle take place in one single in-and-out movement of the piston, without the need for valves; these are replaced by ports that are conveniently fixed to the cylinder wall.
There are also diesel engines that are a variant on internal combustion engines, as they have not an ignition system or a carburetor. In these engines, when the piston drops, clean air is sucked in and when the piston rises, it powerfully compresses the air and heats it to a very high temperature to then inject a jet of liquid fuel that is pulverized in the chamber and, due to the effect of the temperature in the chamber, is spontaneously ignited (explosion), thus producing the gases that drive the piston.
The most common forms of combustion are those of carbon and hydrogen compounds in the presence of air, and for combustion to be complete, the air drawn in must have sufficient oxygen to convert all the carbon into carbonic gas and all the hydrogen into water.
On the other hand, it should be mentioned that one of the human race""s greatest concerns in modern times is the serious deterioration of the environment as, day after day, an endless number of contaminants are emitted into the atmosphere in the form of gases or solid particles. As they cannot be processed or eliminated by natural reaction mechanisms, gases remain mixed in the air and particles remain in suspension, causing serious, in some cases, irreversible damage to the human respiratory system.
Some of the main producers of contaminants include industry, that requires oil-based fuel to run its production lines, and motor vehicles, particularly in third-world and developing countries, where the majority of vehicles are old and are not fitted with anti-pollution devices, on account of which all combustion gases are emitted into he atmosphere.
The motor vehicle problem is accentuated in cities with major traffic congestion problems, such as Mexico City where the roads resemble a parking lot, particularly during the rush hour. Vehicles that are virtually stationary with the engine running emit a large amount of contaminants into the atmosphere.
The subject of energy has been discussed for many years in both national and international circles, particularly in the oil, oil derivatives and oil-based fuel industries, because, as we are all well aware, oil is a limited natural resource.
As combustion is also a key factor in the generation of power, large sums of money and much effort have been spent on researching and seeking a more efficient means of burning fuel. Likewise, researchers are striving to reduce the level of contaminants released during combustion as they have a detrimental effect on the environment, such as producing acid rain.
It is for this reason that for many years, various devices have been developed to not only optimizes the combustion process, mainly in internal combustion engines, but also to reduce contaminants and save fuel. Nevertheless, they have only gone part of the way towards fulfilling the purpose for which they were designed and built.
The majority of the equipment and devices developed use magnetic media that generate a magnetic field to align the hydrocarbon chain, and thus make the combustion process more complete.
One of these devices is outlined in Mexican Patent No. 173141, whose inventor also invented this particular apparatus. It relates to a method and a solid material body to purify liquids, such as water, aqueous liquids and liquid fuels. These pass through a hollow chamber that has an inner body of solid material made from an alloy of 50 to 60 weight % copper, 0.5 to 8 weight % nickel, 20 to 28 weight % zinc, 1.3 to 4.5 weight % tin, 0.005 to 2 weight % aluminum and 7 to 15 weight % manganese. The alloy purifies the water or aqueous liquid and reduces hardness of the water, thus preventing the formation of scale, rust and corrosion that damage the pipes through which they pass, or the receptacles in which they are stored.
Mexican Patent No. 171087 relates to a fuel treatment unit for internal combustion engines. It has a container with an intake and an outlet, a metal element made from aluminum fixed to the container, and an additional metal element made from an alloy of aluminum, copper, tin, zinc, iron, nickel, lead, sulfur and phosphorus in the middle of the container; these two elements combine to form a non-linear flow path. The lead, sulfur and phosphorous of the additional metal element are in the form of residual traces so their presence is irrelevant.
Mexican Patent No. 197033 describes a fuel economizing unit and a contaminant reducer to be used in internal combustion engines or industrial or domestic ovens. This invention""s specific characteristic is a cartridge made up of an outer copper cylinder with two metal ends (the cartridge is both the fuel container and conductor). At each of the metal ends of the outer cylinder is a nozzle in the form of a spigot with a screw thread, through which the fuel that passes through the unit flows in and out; these also function as fuel conductors. Inside the cartridge is an alloy in the form of metal granules that is held in place by non-corroding bars. These metal granules are made up of 56 to 58% copper, 17 to 19% zinc, 13 to 15% nickel, 2 to 4% tin, 1 to 3% silver and 5 to 7% lead and their function is to fracture and align the hydrocarbon chain. The cartridge also has an inner copper casing, surrounded by the metal granules, that includes one or several isotropic barium ferrite nuclei, hermetically fixed inside the inner casing. It also has several inner casing caps that not only hermetically preserve the nuclei, but also work together as conductors. The function of the magnetic nucleus is to ionize the molecules of the fuels produced by hydrocarbons. The entire fuel economizing and contaminant reduction unit is surrounded and protected by a rigid polyurethane insulation material that both protects the unit from blows and insulates it from excessive temperatures.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,665 describes a unit and a method to improve the combustion characteristics of liquid fuels. The unit comprises an elongated, hollow body, with inlet and outlet points that are fitted in line with the fuel to be treated. The elongated body contains an elongated metal bar that is placed so that the outer surface of the metal bar is in direct contact with the fluid to be treated. The metal bar is triangular in section and is fitted inside the hollow body, and is made of an alloy of 30 to 60% copper, 15 to 40% zinc, 10 to 30% nickel, 5 to 20% tin and 1 to 10% silver.
We can also mention the U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,185 that relates to a fuel catalyzer that improves combustion efficiency. This unit includes at least one hydride element, one element that is more active than the hydride element in electrolytic terms, and one element that is less active than the hydride element in electrolytic terms. The hydride element preferably includes at least one element from Groups IV and V of the periodic table. The preferred formula of the catalytic element includes 20 to 60 weight % antimony, 10 to 30 weight % tin, 10 to 80 weight % zinc and 1 a 5 weight % silver.
There are also numerous other national and foreign documents that describe fuel treatment units that may be used to improve the efficiency of combustion in internal combustion engines, in addition to saving fuel and reducing contaminants. Nevertheless, the problem of some of these units is that they are very expensive, as the alloy of the metal bar comprises precious metals, such as palladium and silver. Likewise, other of the above-described apparatus requires constant maintenance to keep them in optimum operating condition.
In addition to the foregoing, the alloy described in Mexican Patent No. 197033 includes lead as a component thereof, which represents an inconvenience because of the well known polluting and poisoning characteristics of lead, on account of which its use has been restricted.
Therefore, a way has been sought to solve the problems of both internal combustion systems and units used to reduce contaminants found during the combustion process, and to design and develop an apparatus to improve the efficiency of internal combustion, reduce the emission of contaminants and save fuel, thus providing a practical and simple solution to the problem of environmental deterioration, and the inefficiency of units that are currently being used to attempt to solve this problem.
Having in consideration the disadvantages of equipment that uses the aforementioned process of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a practical and simple apparatus that improves combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems, and also efficiently reduces exhaust gases when fuel is being burnt, thus reducing the amount of contaminants emitted into the atmosphere.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems in order to make the mixture more uniform and optimize atomization of the fuel, thus providing a more complete combustion process to achieve maximum efficiency.
It is still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems, which permit to reduce fuel that is not burnt or is only partially burnt, thus saving fuel.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems in order to decrease the temperature of exhaust gas, to thus increase the working life of machines and engines.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems in order to increase performance by reducing the amount of fuel not burnt or partially burnt.
Additional object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems in order to reduce the frequency of and simplify system maintenance, as it has no moving parts or any other part that needs to be replaced.
It is an additional object of the of the present invention to provide an apparatus for improving combustion efficiency in internal combustion systems that permits the ground connection of the apparatus when in use, to thus protect the reaction of the fuel and the metal bar from any interference caused by magnetic fields generated by any electrical supply source.